international drivers license

An International Driver's Permit is required in Greece...it's simply an internationally-accepted translation of your state license, to allow non-English speaking officials to be able to assess your qualifications. There are fines for not having one, should police choose to impose them....many on this board have said they've never been asked for one. It's really a matter of personal choice...personally, the $10 I spend is worth it to avoid the chance of aggravation in some foreign country. Do a search for "license" or "permit" in the search box in the upper right corner, and you'll see dozens of comments on the subject.

norman, I don't believe it's a "ripoff" at all. Even though Police may not always ask for one, an IDP is also required in Italy. Those NOT having one could by subjected to fines.

The IDP also includes a helpful chart showing the different road signs, etc. As Norm said, for $10 or so, it's not a huge problem.

Happy travels!

Yay! The question is back! I promised Norm months ago I would change my tune on this topic. Get the IDP if it is required in a country.

It's especially a good idea in Greece because they use the Cyrillic alphabet which probably makes an American drivers license harder to read.

And, as I think as been pointed out (can't see previous responses when I'm writing my own) they're not licenses. They're just translations of your state license.

Bravo Doug!

Arguments in favor of getting an IDP: it's the law in a foreign country that I am visiting; it's more likely that I will inadvertently violate traffic laws there due to unfamiliarity with conditions and traffic rules; unlike here, the officer has the power to assess and collect a hefty fine on the spot, and if he/she is further aggravated because I not only violated a traffic rule but also violated the IDP requirement and he can't read my good ol' American DL, hmmmm.... Arguments against getting an IDP: costs $10 and the time required to obtain it (I can reduce trip cost from $10,000 to $9,990).

received following. these folks are using thrifty rent car.

CreteTravel.com/SuperbGreece.com to me

show details 9:24 AM (22 minutes ago)

Reply

Norman

With our car rental company a licence which shows information in English or
an EU valid licence (US, CANADIAN ALSO) are all just fine.

No permit required!

Best regards

Norman,

Be careful. The note you received from the car rental company may simply be saying that they won't ask you if you have an IDP when you pick up your car. All they need to see is your driver license. However, that doesn't change the fact that legally an IDP is required in Greece and the police may be very unhappy if they ask you to produce it and you don't have one to show them.

Before driving through a handful of countries, I checked to see if they required the IDP. Two did, so I got one for $10.

As I understand it's more of a translation of your driver's license than anything else. Some countries require them, others don't.

I was never asked for mine but, for $10, better to have it and not need it, than need it (break down, accident, ticket) and not have it.

all talk about $10 expense. in my part of country aaa charges $15 plus cost of passport photos (which may be slight w/digital camera). received following from crete travel agent:
Norman, regarding your driving licence, theoretically it is a legal requirement to
have an International Driving Licence/Permit if you do no have an EU driving
licence.

However, talking about Crete and not the whole of Greece, most of our
numerous guests from USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand bring their own
national licence which is accepted by the car rental company. We have not
had any occasion, complain or difficulty when the licence was shown to
police in Crete.

In reality in Crete (and mostly in Greece) we are not only in different time
zone, we are in a completely different reality zone in that rules, codes and
permissions are observed rather loosely in most cases!

Best regards
Roger
SuperbWorld
CreteTravel.com<><>Crete-Hotels-Rooms.com
SuperbGreece.com<><>Crete-Car-Rental.com

I'd hate for you to be the one exception that proves the rule...even $15 + passport photos sounds cheap compared to the headache of dealing with the one Greek police officer who decides to enforce the rules.

Norman....you have asked us whether you "really need" an international driver's permit for Greece. We have told you that it is a legal requirement. Yet you keep posting examples which seem to suggest that you only "theoretically" need one. Rather than seeking fellow travellers' advice, you seem to be looking for some sort of justification for not spending the $15 for one. OK...so don't. In the end, it's up to you, but you won't find anyone here who will say you definitely won't run into problems if you don't have one, because that's simply not true. Will you get caught? Probably not. Will you get sick or hurt on this trip? Probably not. But you likely do have health insurance. Think of it as "license" insurance....or not!:)

Norman, if your Greek is flawless, and you know enough of the Greek penal code to represent yourself in the local traffic court. I'd say save the 15 bucks.